Showing contrast and cause If you repeat the same words and structures, your writing will become monotonous Good writers always make a conscious effort to avoid repeating vocabulary within the same paragraph if possible Fortunately, in English we can express the same idea in very many ways Showing opposition or contrast Ideas that can be expressed using the coordinating conjunctions but and yet can also be expressed using the subordinating conjunctions though, even though, and although Study the examples given below It was raining, but we went out It was raining, yet we went out Though / although / even though it was raining, we went out We can also express the same ideas using the transitional adverbs however, nevertheless and nonetheless It was raining; however, we went out It was raining; nevertheless / nonetheless, we went out Note that transitional adverbs (also called conjunctive adverbs) are not conjunctions They cannot connect two clauses A transitional adverb usually goes at the beginning of a clause and is separated by a full stop or a semicolon from the clause that goes before it Some prepositions can also be used to show contrast Examples are: in spite of and despite Note that prepositions are followed by nouns or pronouns which act as their objects In spite of the rain, we went out OR Despite the rain, we went out (NOT In spite of it was raining, we went out.) Showing cause We can show the cause of an action or a situation using several different structures Study the examples given below He was never on time, so he lost his job He was never on time and therefore he lost his job He was never on time and consequently he lost his job He was never on time and as a result he lost his job The expressions consequently, therefore, and as a result are transitional adverbs They cannot connect two clauses; however, when they are preceded by the conjunction and, they act like conjunctions Compare: He worked hard and therefore he succeeded OR He worked hard; therefore, he succeeded Note the use of the semicolon in the second sentence Stay on top of your writing! Download our grammar guide from www.englishgrammar.org to stay up-to-date Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)